Explore Business Standard
Air Pollution Study
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has ordered the shutdown of 19 ready mix concrete plants, which serve construction projects, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for violating environmental guidelines and contributing to deteriorating air quality levels. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the board said the enforcement action followed a compliance survey that found multiple facilities operating without proper dust control systems, emission management mechanisms and statutory permissions. The MPCB stated that multiple teams were already conducting physical inspections across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), and strict enforcement will continue through the winter months. According to the statement, the MPCB currently operates 32 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) across the MMR, including Mumbai, adjoining Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Panvel. Of these, 14 stations are run through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The real-time
The Supreme Court on Monday said the air pollution issue in the Delhi-NCR cannot be treated as a "customary" case to be listed only during the winter months, noting that it will be taken twice in a month to find out short and long-term solutions to the menace. In a significant shift from the usual narrative, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, "The issue of stubble burning should not unnecessarily become a political issue or an issue of ego." Questioning the usual blame on stubble burning as the key contributor to air pollution in Delhi-NCR, CJI Kant, who comes from a farmer's family at Hissar in Haryana, asked, "Stubble burning was there during COVID, but why could people still see clear blue skies? This suggests other factors are at play." "We do not want to comment on stubble burning as it is incorrect to pass the burden onto people (farmers) who are hardly represented in this court," the CJI said, adding, "The issue of stubble burning ..
Even with farm fires at a multi-year low, Delhi-NCR's winter air remains suffocating. For most of October and November, pollution levels hovered between 'very poor' and 'severe', fuelled by a rising "toxic cocktail" of PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) emitted mainly from vehicles and other local sources. At least 22 air-quality monitoring stations in Delhi recorded carbon monoxide (CO) levels above permissible limits on more than 30 of the 59 days assessed, with Dwarka Sector 8 logging the highest number of breaches at 55 days, followed by Jahangirpuri and Delhi University's North Campus, both at 50 days, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The analysis also highlights a troubling proliferation of pollution hotspots in the capital. In 2018, only 13 locations were officially designated as hotspots. Now, several more locations routinely record pollution levels far higher than the city average. Jahangirpuri emerged as Delh
Delhi recorded its lowest January-November average air quality index (AQI) since 2018, barring the Covid lockdown year of 2020, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Sunday. The average AQI for the period this year was 187, compared to 201 in 2024, 190 in 2023, 199 in 2022, 197 in 2021, 172 in 2020, 203 in 2019 and 213 in 2018, the CAQM said in a statement. Only three days saw the daily average AQI exceed 400 (severe category) between January and November this year. There were 11 such days in 2024, 12 in 2023, four in 2022, 17 in 2021, 11 in 2020, 16 in 2019 and 12 in 2018. Not a single day has crossed the 450 mark so far this year, the statement said. PM2.5 concentration for the period up to November 27 was the lowest since 2018 and at par with 2020. The average stood at 85 micrograms per cubic metre this year, against 98 in 2024, 90 in 2023 and 2022, 95 in 2021, 85 in 2020, 99 in 2019 and 103 in 2018. PM10 levels were also the lowest for the corresponding peri
Road dust remains a major driver of particulate pollution in the capital, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Sunday after its flying squads inspected 321 road stretches across Delhi under Operation Clean Air. The inspections, carried out on Saturday, were meant to check how much dust had settled on the roads and whether cleaning, sweeping and dust-suppression measures by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) were working on the ground. Out of the 321 stretches checked, 35 showed high levels of visible dust, 61 had moderate dust, 94 recorded low dust and 131 had no visible dust. CAQM in a statement said the results highlight once again that road dust remains a major contributor to Delhi's particulate matter, especially in winter, and that regular mechanical sweeping, timely removal of collected dust, pavement upkeep, and water-sprinkling are essential. MCD had the largest number
The national capital recorded an AQI of 369 on Friday, extending its streak of 'very poor' air quality to half the month of November, and forecasts show no respite in the next week. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 369 on Friday, compared to 377 on Thursday, 327 on Wednesday, 352 on Tuesday and 382 on Monday, remaining in the 'very poor' category for the 14th consecutive day. The highest AQI in the city, at 414, was recorded in Dwarka Sector 8, the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer app showed. The air quality is likely to remain 'very poor' over the coming week, according to the forecast by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. Meanwhile, the Sameer app, which displays real-time pollution readings from monitoring stations across Delhi, showed that several stations -- including RK Puram, Punjabi Bagh, Nehru Nagar, Dwarka, Rohini, Jahangirpuri, and Mundka -- recorded AQI levels above the 400 mark. Out of 39 monitoring stations, a total o
Delhi ranked as the most polluted among 33 states and Union territories with an annual mean PM2.5 concentration of 101 micrograms per cubic metre, 2.5 times the Indian standard and 20 times the WHO guideline, according to a new satellite-based analysis. The report by the independent research organisation Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said Chandigarh recorded the second-highest annual average PM2.5 level at 70 micrograms per cubic metre during the study period from March 2024 to February 2025, followed by Haryana at 63 and Tripura at 62. Assam (60), Bihar (59), West Bengal (57), Punjab (56), Meghalaya (53) and Nagaland (52) also exceeded the national standard. Overall, 447 of the 749 districts (60 per cent) analysed breached the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for annual PM2.5 of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. The most polluted districts are heavily concentrated in a few states, the analysis showed. Delhi (11 districts) and Assam (11 districts) together
As the national capital enters its harsh winter phase with plunging temperatures and thickening smog, physicians are sounding the alarm on a dual threat to joint health. Over the past two months, consultations for joint pain among patients with chronic arthritis have risen, although specific data quantifying the overall increase in joint cases across Delhi remains unavailable. A 2025 study published in the European Medical Journal found that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases the risk of developing arthritis by 12 to 18 per cent, reinforcing concerns that poor air quality and cold weather together can significantly worsen joint pain and inflammation, according to orthopaedic specialists across the Delhi-NCR region. In many cases, the winter chill causes muscles around joints to tighten, blood flow to slow, and the tissues around the joint to contract. These factors are enough to worsen stiffness in patients and increase pain in patients with Osteoarthri
The Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) Sameer App and website did not display updated Air Quality Index data for Delhi on Monday. The Sameer App, which provides AQI information from all monitoring stations across the city, stopped updating data after Monday afternoon while the 24-hour average AQI, which is usually released at 4 pm every day, had also not been updated till 6.30 pm. Officials did not immediately provide the reason for the disruption. According to the AQI bulletin, Delhi's air quality remained in the very poor category, with a reading of 345 since morning and no further updates through the day. This is not the first time such a disruption has occurred this season. Several similar instances were reported during and after Diwali when AQI data remained unavailable for hours. On Sunday, Delhi's AQI had touched 391 in the morning -- the highest recorded so far this season -- while the 24-hour average AQI settled at 370, also in the very poor category, according to C
Scores of people, including parents and environmental activists, staged a protest at the India Gate on Sunday against the worsening air quality in the national capital. The protesters, many of them mothers accompanied by children, said they had gathered to demand urgent government action to ensure clean air. "We want to meet our elected officials. We had sought an appointment with the chief minister but were refused. So many parents are here because their children are suffering," environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari said. "Every third child already has damaged lungs; they will live nearly 10 years less than those growing up in cleaner air," she said. Another protester, Abhishek, said the government had failed to provide even the basic right, to breathe clean air. "During (former chief minister) Sheila Dikshit's term, Delhi was known as a green capital. Today, it ranks among the most polluted cities in the world. Politicians keep blaming each other instead of taking responsibility,"
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday slammed the Delhi government for "complete failure" in controlling pollution, saying that there was a "public health emergency" in the national capital. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP. In a post on X, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the "four-engine government has ruined everything". "I appeal to the people of Delhi to take care of themselves - this government is not going to do anything for you," he posted on X in Hindi. Senior AAP leaders said the capital is "gasping for breath" while BJP ministers remain busy with election campaigns in Bihar. AAP's Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said residents can no longer breathe the city's "poisonous" air, which has forced 'Warrior Moms' -- a collective of mothers fighting for children's right to breathe clean air -- to write to the health minister. "...during this health emergency, Delhi's health minister and other BJP ministers have been busy in Bihar for the past severa
Human-caused PM2.5 pollution was responsible for more than 17 lakh deaths in India in 2022 -- up by 38 per cent since 2010 -- with use of fossil fuels contributing to 44 per cent of the deaths, according to a global report published by The Lancet journal. Use of petrol for road transport contributed to 2.69 lakh deaths, the '2025 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change' said. Estimates also suggest that premature mortality in 2022 due to outdoor air pollution in India translated into a financial loss of USD 339.4 billion -- about 9.5 per cent of the country's GDP. An international team of 128 experts from 71 academic institutions and UN agencies, led by University College London, was involved in producing the ninth edition of the report. Published ahead of the 30th UN Conference of the Parties (COP30), the report provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of the connections between climate change and health, the authors said. The findings assume ...
Delhi's air pollution forecasting system could predict "very poor and above" air quality days with more than 80 per cent accuracy in the last two winters, according to a new study published on Wednesday. The study by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said the city's Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) successfully forecast 83 out of 92 "very poor and above" episodes (air quality index above 300) in winter 2023-24, and 54 out of 58 such days in 2024-25. The system also improved in predicting the severe pollution days (AQI above 400). While it managed to correctly flag just one out of 15 such days in 202324, the number jumped to five out of 14 in the following winter. "The high accuracy of Delhi's early warning systems is a positive sign. Updated emission inventories can improve the accuracy further. It would enable us to have a better understanding of what pollutes Delhi's air and in what quantities," said Mohammad Rafiuddin, programme lead at CEEW. He added that
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has admitted it has not conducted any research or study on pollution caused by diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years that form the basis of the overage vehicle ban in Delhi-NCR. In a reply to an RTI application filed by environmentalist Amit Gupta, the CAQM said it has not undertaken any pollution research or study regarding the impact of such vehicles. Asked if there were any other research that formed the basis of the ban, the commission said the restrictions on "end-of-life" (EoL) vehicles stem from the National Green Tribunal's order in Vardhman Kaushik vs Union of India & Ors and the Supreme Court's order in M C Mehta vs Union of India & Ors. Last month, the CAQM put on hold until October 31 the enforcement of its earlier directive that fuel stations in Delhi should not supply petrol or diesel to such overage vehicles. The decision came after the Delhi government cited "operational and .